


There For You

by egrets20



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Bittersweet, Child Abuse, Crying, Death Threats, Gen, Head Injury, Hurt/Comfort, Past Abuse, Physical Abuse, Untreated Injuries, Verbal Abuse, abusive Sylvia, caring and supportive doctor, vent fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-02
Updated: 2020-06-02
Packaged: 2021-03-04 03:48:26
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,085
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24507175
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/egrets20/pseuds/egrets20
Summary: Traumatic memories are dredged up during a spa treatment involving hair washing and scalp massage. The Doctor has to work to calm Donna down.
Comments: 7
Kudos: 18





	There For You

(Please don’t read this if you are struggling with abuse. The feelings discussed within this fic are conflicted and not meant to heal or properly address trauma.)

“Oh, this is going to be wonderful,” Donna declared. “Just the sort of treatment I would expect.”

The Doctor smirked, leaning back in his chair. He seemed to peek over at her with the eye that wasn’t covered with a vegetable round. (He had already snacked on the other slice.)

Donna hopped into the barber-style chair by the hair washing station. The attendant picked up her hair brush. She started teasing the knots out of Donna’s tresses. Donna winced a little as the many-toothed comb raked across her scalp.

“How did you talk me into this again?” The Doctor murmured.

Donna sighed. For an alien that seemed to thoroughly enjoy touching, he was still fidgety about the whole “spa” experience. He appeared to regard it as time being- well, not unproductive, but time that was better spent exploring. Donna supposed he was only there to keep her company.

“It won’t take long. Just a quick massage and rinse and then we can go wherever and whenever you like,” Donna promised him.

She saw the Doctor’s eyes light up out of the corner of her vision. He was going to pick somewhere crazy to go next, she just knew it.

“But not yet. I want to be thoroughly relaxed before we go off saving the universe with a ball of twine and a matchstick.”

The spa attendant was being unnecessarily aggressive with her brush. Donna hadn’t thought that her hair was that tangled.

Donna exhaled when it was time for hair washing. She assumed it was a soothing experience, or so she had been told. The chair was adjusted so that Donna could sit comfortably with her head resting backwards. As the sprayer was turned on and adjusted to a warm setting, Donna rolled her shoulders. The water soaked into the edges of her hair and her tresses fanned out across the large basin.

First, Donna’s scalp was rinsed with warm water. Her tense shoulders relaxed as she was allowed to soak up the heat. She could hear the Doctor start to hum. He seemed to do that whenever he was lost in thought. Donna found the familiar melodic chords to be a pleasant addition to the atmosphere.

The attendant gently massaged her head. Her hands retreated after a minute and there was a rustling and clicking sound. A strong fragrance filled the air. The attendant worked in the flowery shampoo, strong hands once again pulling and massaging the suds in. Donna felt her fingers tense on the armrests. She wanted to tell the attendant that it was starting to hurt, but just as she thought to speak, the hot water was being sprayed across her brow again. The suds were rinsed out with more pulling motions. Donna consoled herself with the knowledge that it wouldn’t take long to finish the cleansing.

“Did you want to go somewhere for lunch after this? How about a patisserie in Paris. You pick the century,” the Doctor proposed.

Donna would have chuckled if her hair wasn’t being yanked. She attempted to speak with a clear voice. “You’re- you’re hungry?”

The Doctor slowly rubbed his stomach, as if considering. “Bit peckish. Could do with something flaky and buttery.”

He went on a tangent about pastries. He admitted that a lot of other places in the universe hadn’t had delicacies that agreed with his companions’ stomachs. He was willing to simplify the situation by settling for some readily available Earth pastries.

Donna fell silent as more shampoo was rubbed into her hair. She hadn’t expected to be bathed twice. Her knuckles went white as she clutched the armrests and her head was once again worked over. She didn’t complain. She was supposed to be enjoying this experience. Thankfully, this hair bath wasn’t as long but the subsequent rinse was lengthier. Donna hoped that she would be allowed to sit up and dry off soon.

The hands paused and drew back. Donna felt her heart leap with anticipation. The hands returned to soap her up again and Donna felt something within her snap.

Hot tears started dripping down Donna’s face. The attendant froze and asked if she was alright. Donna attempted to nod and shrug at the same time. She could get through some silly hair bath. It shouldn’t hurt so much. The tears were falling thick and fast. Donna inhaled wetly.

“Are you alright? Are in pain?” The woman asked quickly, turning off the water pump and touching her arm.

“Yeah. Yeah, sorry, it just hurts a little.” Salt water trickled down her chin and soaked into her shirt.

“You should have told me!” The attendant exclaimed. “You must have a tender head. My goodness.”

Donna saw the Doctor looming over the attendant’s shoulder. “What’s wrong?” He asked.

The attendant picked up Donna’s hand and cupped it gently. Donna felt her cheeks heat up as she saw the Doctor’s furrowed brow and hovering stance. She hadn’t meant to cry over some stupid scalp massage.

“Was the water too hot? Or was it the tugging on your hair?” The attendant asked.

“The tugging.” Donna attempted to take deep breaths. “I’m sorry.”

The woman’s brow crinkled and Donna saw her retrieve some sort of round bottle. “May I apply lotion to your hands? It might help you feel better.”

Donna nodded and the woman spread a crisp scented lotion over Donna’s left palm.

“Does your head hurt? Do you have any injuries?” The Doctor asked.

“No.” The tears were still coursing down from Donna’s flushed face and she attempted to turn away from his scrutiny. “I’m alright. I’m sorry.”

The Doctor bent over and whispered in the attendant’s ear. She nodded and rose from her crouched position beside Donna. The lotion bottle was passed between them and soon the Doctor was dragging an empty chair over to his companion’s side. He sat down, squirting some lotion into his palm. He picked up where the attendant had left off and started systematically kneading. Donna apologized again and he shushed her.

“Just relax for a minute for me, Donna.”

Donna felt him trace along her tendons and muscles in her palms and fingers. He rubbed her wrists and forearms before applying more lotion. Donna allowed the touch since his intention was to soothe her.

She took a shuddering breath. “That was silly. Sorry.”

The Doctor sighed. “You don’t need to apologize. Does your ear hurt?”

Donna squinted at him.

“Your scar near your right ear.” He let go of her momentarily to gesture at his own ear.

Donna realized what he was getting at. “Oh! No, it’s fine.”

She touched the faint scar. She had forgotten that he had found out about it.

“You’re safe here. No one’s going to hurt you,” the Doctor said calmly and softly, like he was talking to a cornered animal. She gave a scoff and rubbed at her face with her sleeve.

The Doctor allowed her to dry her cheeks before he carefully seized her hands again and continued his ministrations. “Just take deep breaths. I think you’ve had an encounter with a repressed memory.”

Donna furrowed her brow, trying to recall what he was referring to.

“When your mother brushed your hair...if you can call it that.” His eyes were dark and his gaze did not meet hers.

He was speaking of her earliest memories of her Mum, combing her hair before Donna had proper hand coordination. Her Mum dragged a comb straight through the thick red hair, ignoring as Donna winced while the follicles were pulled out by the roots. Donna remembered holding her breath, trying to remain mute, aware that she wasn’t allowed to speak or show pain.

She remembered getting the ear scar from a metal comb that had torn open the back of her ear. It was from a lice treatment following a school outbreak. The injury had never been treated and she had occasionally picked at it, which was admittedly why it hadn’t healed properly.

The Doctor had been given a peek of her memories regarding her Mum after they made contact during an intense psychological incident. He had gleaned enough from it to decide that he wasn’t in a rush to let Sylvia near her daughter again.

Any injuries Donna had received at home were never tended to, including the ones Sylvia gave her daughter. The Doctor had seen how Donna was slugged in the arm or the head for any minor transgressions. Donna had a crooked finger and a crooked pelvis from childhood incidents that had never been addressed. She had grown up under a strict “children should be seen and not heard” policy and everyone had been discouraged by Sylvia to show her any affection.

Wilf had never let it apply to him. He hugged his Granddaughter. “You’re being silly, Syl,” he would tell her mother.

Donna’s Dad hadn’t been around much while she was growing up. He was always at work to the point where Chiswick had surmised that the Nobles were divorced.

When Donna found out that she was an unwanted accident, she wasn’t surprised. She remembered her Mum complaining as she had to buy Donna clothes or an occasional book. Donna’s room was often full of her Mum’s discarded objects, including furniture and decorations Sylvia didn’t want to toss out.

Donna was yelled at for being unable to perform several tasks and chores at once. Donna always seemed to fall short of her expectations no matter what she did. Sylvia had even admitted that she wanted Donna to be “perfect.” Once Donna had turned eighteen, there had been some weird coming of age rule where she could speak her mind without getting hit in the head. Donna used it to tell her Mum how she had hurt her. That was also the year when Sylvia started talking about how she wished Donna had died. Their relationship remained rocky ever since. Donna was allowed- well...forced to live at home until her mother stopped needing her help with things.

Donna had stayed despite everything. There had been some good moments and her Mum really did care for her. Sure, her Mum had often lied and held her back from doing what she wanted, but they were still family and Donna hadn’t starved or been kept cold or anything. She had even been rewarded by her Mum sometimes... Donna realized suddenly that she was defending her abuser.

The Doctor looked very grim. Donna realized that he was still holding her hand. She drew back.

“Did you want the attendant to rinse your hair or would you like to wash it after we leave?” His tone was level. “She’ll be more careful, I think.”

Donna nodded. “Yeah. Yeah, she can rinse it.”

She suddenly wanted nothing more than to leave as quickly as possible, but she knew that it was more sensible to listen this time. His eyes seemed to study her before he nodded and fetched the spa worker.

Their departure passed in a whirlwind. Donna and the Doctor retrieved their things, paid their fee, and made a beeline for the TARDIS. Donna tried to stop herself from apologizing so much, but it kept coming out. The Doctor reached over to rub her back and shoulders. She flinched a little at the Doctor’s touch, but she told herself to stop and straighten her back. She was an adult now and she could get over this.

Donna crossed the TARDIS’s threshold and the time machine gave a cooing and trilling sound. It wasn’t patronizing; the TARDIS was genuinely glad to see her.

“Thank you, sweetheart,” Donna told her.

The TARDIS and the Doctor took her out among the stars and the Doctor made their patisserie lunch an occasion for take out. They watched films and sat close together on the sofa in one of the TARDIS rec rooms. Donna had blinked sleepily as the television played everything from nature documentaries to cartoons. She nearly nodded off into her eclair. The Doctor seemed to watch her with a fond look.

The TARDIS and the Doctor always comforted her and listened when it was most essential. It was true that Donna didn’t let them be anything but mates, but somehow that was more important. She didn’t think she could allow for anyone else to be like the friends they were to her.

The End.


End file.
